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Getting a focused workout on the lower abs through exercises can often be quite tricky, as most abs exercises tend to focus on the upper abs, not the lower.

On top of this, having weakness in lower abs can be very disfuntional by causing imbalance in muscle strength and flexibility in the body. This can lead to injury in the future.

So is very important, in fact is CRUCIAL to get a good stimulation of lower abs when training, not just for aesthetics also for body health!

Below is a list on what I think are the best lower abs exercises. The ideal would be to use all of them to a degree, as work the lower abs in different ways, ie some more compound (mulit-joints) and some more isolated.

Also, some work way better at different parts of the workout. I would never suggest to do an isolation exercise before a big compound one, as heavily limits the fitness stimulation will with bigger muscles. The only case I would suggest to train like this would be if advanced and want to super load the lower abs. But for the most of us, stick to training larger muscles, compound movements to smaller muscles, isolation movements through the session.

SOME THEORY THAT WILL REALLY HELP YOU OUT

Knowing a little bit about body and muscle functionality will go a long way to understanding how best to target lower abs. Without getting into too much depth, the following is very important to remember:

Bending the upper torso forwards will tend to work the upper abs.

Bending (curling) the pelvis towards the upper body will tend to work the lower abs.

Bearing in mind these to principles will hold you in great stead for thinking what type of abs exercise to do. And you can probably relate to this with previous abs exercises done. So just bear in mind.

1) Squats/deadlifts.

When anyone asks me ‘what is the best abs exercise’, (although the answer could depend on more specifics) my general answer will be the big boys: Squats and Deadlifts. Especially deadlifts. And pretty much the same goes for lower abs. And there are many reasons why.

For starters, both are extremely functional, whole body exercises where if there are any imbalances in lower-upper abs, this exercise will sort it out. If you have not done these exercises before, it will become apparent very quickly! Especially when making sure bracing the abs particularly through the up phase.

Moreover, a lot of people who what to workout lower abs want to shed weight there aswell. Both these exercises require huge muscle recruitment, working pretty much every muscle in your body to varying degrees. Especially in deadlifts. This means is a fantastic exercise to incorporate to your routine for weight loss.

Just be aware both squats and deadlifts require a little technique, so only do if have trained or being instructed by a personal trainer or fitness professional. If do wrong, can cause significant damage. But this is not a reason to shy away from them, cos when done right, they are some of the best injury prevention exercises period!

Start with low weights, high reps if new to this exercise. 20 to 15 reps is a good starting point, 2 – 3 sets. Progress by slowing increasing weights. After a few weeks, can start to lower reps and increase sets (volume).